Pôrto Santo near Madeira (Part 2)

Ponta da Calherta   

The bus tour was the easiest way that we could see some of the higher points of the island but having been picked up in Vila Baleira at 1500hrs the bus actually retraced our route southwest along the beach all the way back to the southwestern tip of the island. This time we were at sea level and the bus stopped at the western extremity of the beach, at Ponta da Calheta. It is a lovely beach, all soft golden sand, the only natural sand beach in Madeira Grande and Porto Santo. It’s for this reason that there is such an influx of visitors from Madeira Grande to Porto Sano every weekend and holiday. At Ponta da Calheta, the beach is also a lot more interesting than at any other point along its length, with rocky outcrops, the off-lying island (Ilhéu de Baixo) and turbulent sea (as it flows between Ilhéu de Baixo and Porto Santo) to look at.

Pico do Castelo 437m (top L) Ilhéu da Fonte de Areia (top R)   

After a 15 min stop to take pictures, the open topped bus then took us through the centre of the island, past the large NATO, now civilian, airfield and onto the steep and rugged northern coastline. Jutting up from the sea we saw Ilhéu da Fonte de Areia, a 79 metre high off-lying island with some good surf and a strong current running past it.

Capela de Nossa Senhora da Graça (R)   

And then, a little surprisingly, it was time for the bus to go off road! Having worked its way around the airfield and through lots of small village areas it suddenly turned left up a steep unmade-up road; we rather thought that we should be in a Land Rover rather than an open topped bus! The steep climb brought us up to a viewing point on Pico do Castelo. Here, apparently, there used to be an old Portuguese fort but other than an old cannon and a few low walls we saw little left of it. Perhaps there was more higher up but we were not allowed the time to explore. On this visit the attraction was to see the views down over the island.

View down to the southwest with the airfield clearly visible   

The best view was down to the southwest along the length of the island. We were given 10 minutes to enjoy the it and then it was time to get back on the bus.

Dropping down a little and then following a ridgeline past a line of 3 windmills, we made our way to Miradouro da Portela, the high ground above the port.

Top: Picos Branco and Concelho at the eastern end of the island. Bottom Pico do Castelo (L)
and Pico da Gandaia 484m (R)    

From here we could look north and east into the valleys at the eastern end of the island.

East: Pico da Macarico (L) and Ilhéu de Cima beyond. South: the port    

Of course, looking south we had an excellent view of the harbour and could double check that BV was still sitting safely at anchor there.

With a last look to the southwest along the length of the island we all clambered back on the bus for the trip down to Vila Baleira where we had left our bikes. That completed our touristy activities on Pôrto Santo. We’d missed the Columbus museum, apparently after he had married he had lived on the island for a few years, but I guess you should always leave something to see next time. Back in Vila Baleira we picked up some fresh fruit and bread and then returned to BV ready for our next sail which would take us on to Madeira Grande.

Pôrto Santo, Madeira archipelago